A matter of life and death for half of the US population is NOT A FRINGE ISSUE.
A matter of life and death for half of the US population is NOT A FRINGE ISSUE. Coast-to-Coast / Getty

Since the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced its decision to continue funding Democratic candidates who oppose abortion rights for women, many hot takes have been had. I wasn't going to add to the pile of internet opinions, because if you've read literally anything I've written, you should know where I stand. I'm very sick of repeating myself. Shouting "WOMEN ARE ADULTS OK" into the void gets very old, very quickly. And yet, I'm going to talk about this again, because it looks like we have to. One moment please.

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*screams for a full minute*

*checks whiskey stores*

*says a desperate prayer to Samantha Bee and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Our Ladies of Infinite Patience*

Okay, I'm back.

Here's the thing, Democrats, and I guess everyone who is not clear on why abortion SHOULD be a litmus test for progressive candidates:

When abortion is illegal, women die.

That's it! That's what happens! It's a matter of life and death, of bodily autonomy, of financial stability and economic justice for slightly more than half of the United States' population. Which is, you know, the opposite of a fringe issue.

"Make women die from sepsis again!" is a terrible look for a party that claims to support people's access to health care to embrace, even indirectly. And about that, I have news: Abortion is health care. That's literally what it is. You can feel icky about it, or not like it, but that won't change the fact that it is a medical procedure. Performed by doctors. That people need.

Take a knee, Democrats! (That's right, I'm using sports metaphors, because maybe you'll understand that better than [repetitive lady yelling].)

Given Democrats' inability to acknowledge their own sexism (because come on, the #NeverKamala bullshit is basically a #NeverHillary redux, with added racism) and their historically mushy-middle position around abortion specifically, abortion SHOULD be a litmus test.

Sorry, Donald Trump is president. We can't afford to act like it's anything else.